Snape The Cobra
by Cat97Hermione
Summary: Harry's at the Dursleys... but a mysterious black snake threatens to change his life for the better. Watch as Snape manages to overcome his misconceptions about young Harry and develop a mentoring relationship with him, all the while hiding it from his boss... and the rest of the wizarding world. Mentor!Snape ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

_**Which One is the Chosen One?**_

In a small, dirty bar on the outskirts of a tiny, all-wizarding town called Hogsmeade, a job interview was taking place. Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was sitting bored in the tiny back room of his brother's pub. He knew there were better places to conduct interviews, but the woman clearly could not afford to stay anywhere else.

Dumbledore reluctantly turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. He couldn't help but feel as if he was wasting his time. Divination was a ridiculous subject, and he had already decided to not run the subject anymore. However the woman desperately wanted an interview, and common courtesy required him to provide her with one… didn't it? Yet he couldn't help feel disappointed at her obvious lack of talent. Sybil Trelawney was talking about her famous ancestor and seer, Cassandra Trelawney, ignoring herself. Dumbledore repressed a groan. This was a waste of time. They had been sitting there for an hour and she was yet to turn her attention to herself. He tuned her voice out and turned his attention to her clothing. She looked like an oversized dragonfly, and that was saying something! He himself was known for dressing in… odd… clothing, but he felt relatively normal beside her. Finally, he plucked up the courage to say what he had been planning on saying the entire interview…

"Ms… Sybil Trelawney, I regret to inform you that…" but he broke off. The woman's eyes had rolled into the back of her head and looked as if she was having a seizure. He leapt up to try and assist when she began to speak in harsh tones. Dumbledore froze. He had read about this before. She was making a real prophecy- in _his _presence!

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord shall be born as the seventh month dies… left alone and friendless to all but a few until he reaches his 11 year, he shall be marked by the elves…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord shall be marked by himself and the elves… born as the seventh month dies…"_ Trelawney coughed, before looking up at Dumbledore, confused.

"I'm sorry, did you say something? I must have missed it," she said. Dumbledore shook himself out of his stupor before realising how much danger she was in. He had heard scuffing at the doorway.

"Ah, yes, you must have missed me offering you the position as Divination Professor at Hogwarts… your quarters will be ready by tomorrow morning if you accept," he said dazedly.

"Oh, thank you, Professor, my, my, Cassandra would be so proud of me right now… Did you know that she got her fist teaching position when she was 19? So young, she was talented with her Inner Eye… it was so clear…" Dumbledore tuned her out once again as he thought over the prophecy. _Left alone and friendless…_ the parents would have to die… that meant that Voldemort would have to hear a section of the prophecy. Who was it referring to? _Born as the seventh month dies…_ that would have to be either the little Longbottom- Neville! Or… the Bones' had a little girl… the Potters-_born as the seventh month dies…_ little Harry was born only a minute before midnight. His blood chilled. He liked Lily Potter, though he couldn't say the same about her husband. Wait, he was getting ahead of himself. _Born to those that have thrice defied him…_ the Longbottoms' qualified for that, as did the Potters. The Bones' only once- it wasn't little Susan- yet. It was sounding suspiciously like Harry Potter was going to carry the weight of the prophecy. He was the closest in terms of birth. Dumbledore shivered, and suddenly wished he had not heard the prophecy, he could just leave it to unravel itself. Dumbledore made his way slowly up to the school, intent on calling Severus Snape to him when he got there.

On the way, he thought about it. Dumbledore had long ago stopped thinking about individual people as capable of making their own decisions- as being capable of living their own life. He had spent so long having everyone come to him with their problems that he had grown accustomed to deciding things for everyone else without permission- like he was the king in a life-sized game of chess with far too many players. Just recently, he had decided that no one else was going to be strong enough to defeat Tom Riddle, so he was going to do so himself. To hear the prophecy was… disconcerting to say the least. Now they would have to wait, for not only a _baby _to grown old enough to defeat him, but it was someone _other than himself! _He was frustrated. _He was_ the Dark Lord vanquisher in this word! It was his job! Maybe he could train the boy to act as his Martyr, to do exactly as he was told- then Dumbledore could claim all the credit of defeating Voldemort… but that might not work. He had a back-up plan, but it was… messy. And dangerous for his reputation. Finally, he reached his office. Grabbing a handful of Floo powder, he threw it into the flames.

"Severus Snape!" he stuck his head in the flames and closed his eyes as the world began to spin around him. Finally, the spinning stopped and he opened his eyes.

"Severus!" he called. A tall man with long, lanky hair and sallow skin turned around.

"What?"

"Severus, it's just me, you may drop the glamour charm," said Dumbledore mildly. Severus Snape grumbled to himself before waving his wand. His hair lost the greasy look and began to look clean and well cared for. His skin looked cleaner and brighter. He looked- younger. And nicer.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Severus. Are you still looking to spy for me?" Severus spluttered for a few moments.

"Of course! I've been gathering all that information; it might as well go to some use!" Dumbledore regarded him for a few moments before nodding.

"Right. You get the Potions position you were looking for. Also, the prophecy that you may or may not have overheard in the Hogs Head earlier…"

"Yes, that was me at the door, Headmaster," he said sourly.

"Ah, good! How much did you hear?"

"All of it… including you appointing her as Divination professor," he said smoothly.

"Excellent, excellent. Well, I will give you your first mission. Voldemort will expect you to give him the prophecy as it regards him. Tell him only the first little bit; _the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…" _and leave it at that. Tell him you got kicked out for eavesdropping or something similar."

"Yes," said Snape sarcastically, "that would make him so pleased with his spy… kicked out of the _Hogs Head _for being caught spying. That would go down really well."

"That's your problem, not mine," snapped Dumbledore irritably.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell him, you get the people he might consider safe."

"Will do," said Dumbledore in a fake cheery voice before stepping back into the floo and re-entering his office. Very quickly, he dropped his grandfatherly appearance and scowled at the walls. Snape thought that he could tell _him _what to do!

Snape stared at the fireplace that Dumbledore had just disappeared into and frowned. Something was going on with that man and he wasn't quite sure what it was. Still frowning, he grabbed his Death Eater robes and mask before walking to the edge of his wards mentally trying to come up with names. He thought of only two. The Potters and Longbottoms. Once he reached the edge of his property, he disapparated to Malfoy Manor. Only members of the Inner Circle were allowed to have the Floo address and even if he was in that select group, he was not willing to connect his own floo to theirs. No Death Eater knew the location of Prince Manor, and he was hoping it would stay that way.

He walked as slowly as he could towards the Manor, dreading the upcoming meeting. Just before he reached the door, he made sure his occlumency shields were in place. It would not do to have Voldemort discover his deception- the penalty would be worse than death. He then forced feelings of loyalty and servitude to the front of his shields for Voldemort to discover. The Dark Lord believed that he had basic occlumency shields but was yet to master shielding his emotions which made it easier for him to hide his true loyalty. Perfect shields would cast doubt on his loyalty.

"Master, I bring good news," he said after kneeling and kissing the hem of the older man's robes, forcing his disgust to the very back of his mind.

"Ah, Severus… I trust you succeeded? The reward would be great… the price of failure… severe."

"Yes, my Lord, I have succeeded in obtaining the post of Potions Professor at Hogwarts," he said softly, keeping his eyes on the ground. Only and Inner Circle member could look him in the eyes.

"Well done, Severus, have you more news?"

"My Lord, I was eavesdropping on the Divination interview, when the candidate began to speak a prophecy. Dumbledore was fast enough to place a silencing spell on the door; however, I heard the first part. _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…_ I have narrowed the candidates down to the Longbottom and Potter boys."

"Severus, you have done well. You may look at me,"

"Thank you, My Lord, you are generous," said Snape, strengthening his shields as he looked up. He felt Voldemort's passive Legilimency before the older man withdrew and smirked.

"You are still loyal. You will need to work on your shields before you take your position. Wormtail!" he called. A short, balding man crept into the room, trembling, before he stopped and knelt down before Voldemort.

"Yes, My Lord," he whimpered.

"You expressed a desire to join my followers, did you not?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Very well, Legilimens!" Wormtail began to quiver even more on the ground. A minute later, Voldemort lifted the spell and smirked again.

"Associates with the two families we were just discussing," he mused softly, "what a nice little… coincidence…"

"Severus! This is your first task as a member of my Inner Circle… Mark him," he hissed. Snape nodded and pulled out his wand, taking care that it didn't point anywhere near Voldemort. That was a death sentence. He grabbed Wormtail's arm roughly and turned it so that the back of his wrist was facing upwards. Snape gathered all of his negative emotions of hate and jealousy and threw them into his wand as he whispered;

"Mordsmordre!" He wanted Wormtail to feel as much pain as was possible for being willing to betray Lily. He threw even more hate into the spell- the most painful emotion. Soon, Wormtail was screaming and twitching on the ground as the Dark Mark slowly spread across his left forearm. A grin slowly spread across Snape's face as he watched the twitching man. He could grow to like this marking business… they all deserved the pain for joining Voldemort. Once Wormtail was looking as though the pain had subsided, Snape grabbed him off the ground and roughly stood him to face Voldemort, who sneered at the sniffling man.

"Wormtail, I have your first assignment. Watch both the young Longbottom and Potter boys… when you get them alone, do a power revealing spell and tell m their current power levels. Don't let anyone… suspect you… it shouldn't be too hard, even for a coward like yourself," he sneered.

"Yes, My Lord," he mumbled, eyes firmly focused on the ground.

"Very good," Voldemort said patronisingly, "Wormtail, you are dismissed." The shorter man nodded and scurried out the door, and then the snake-faced man turned to Snape.

"Severus… I can see you enjoyed the Marking… that is good. You may keep that memory, but unfortunately… Obliviate! We can't have you knowing his name… especially when you work so close to Dumbledore… you're dismissed." Snape nodded and walked out of the room as quickly as he could while still appearing dignified. Voldemort was known for sending Cruciatus Curses at unsuspecting people as they walked out the door. Once he stepped out of the manor, he walked towards the wards thinking over the meeting. He had told Voldemort the prophecy… and his new position. He had marked a new Death Eater… and _enjoyed _it… but _who?_ He couldn't help but feel it was important, but the name and physical description avoided him. _Great, _he though sarcastically, _I've been obliviated before I could save the memory. How nice. _

Lily and James Potter were sitting eating dinner after putting their son, 2 month old Harry Potter to bed.

"I can't believe the prophecy that Albus told us. Harry has to kill Voldemort! We have to help him, James," said Lily with tears in her eyes.

"I know, Lily… I don't think Albus told us the whole prophecy, though, Lily, it sounded incomplete," mused James.

"James- I have a feeling that the two of us aren't going to make it," said Lily softly.

"How? Just a feeling, or…"

"Yes, James, it's not just a feeling. I _know _the two of us aren't going to make it… Actually, I think we have just over a year," she said heavily. James gaped at her.

"Harry will only be a year old! We have to do something to help him _now!_"

"I know," she sniffed, "and I have an idea, but we can't tell _anyone _about it." James looked at her and saw the seriousness in her eyes. He gulped, before nodding.

"What's your idea, Lils?" She took a deep breath, before starting.

"There is a certain combination of charms and potions that help to… increase magical power. They're illegal because in the wrong hands you can create an incredibly dangerous person. You also have to go through a ritual, one at the beginning of the year cycle and one at the end, with spells and potions once a month in between. I don't think Harry will like it much, but it will increase his power dramatically every month. Then, there's also a charm… if you're dying, you can send all your magic to your eldest child, which is Harry. We can do both, they will be useful. The only person that can know of them are the Head Unspeakable in the charms/potions department and anyone else that discovers them is required to be obliviated, so I am the only one that knows them currently… so no one will suspect us. I might even destroy the records of them once we begin to make it impossible for anyone else to use them… as it is always possible to have a Dark Head Unspeakable," said Lily nervously. James gulped.

"I see why we have to keep this secret, and I agree we should do it. We need to begin as soon as possible though, as you're never wrong in these sorts of things, so we have little time to go through with it," said James seriously. Lily would have laughed at the expression on his face if she didn't fully agree with him.

"Yes, I think we should do the first ritual and potion/charms tomorrow." James' face was one of shock, before it morphed into a milder one of resignation and acceptance.

"Tomorrow, our son begins on the path of becoming a weapon," he said sadly. Lily nodded, looking upset before her tone became more business-like.

"Albus suggested the _Fidelius_ charm… we need a secret keeper."

"Sirius! Who else would you trust to keep our secret? Dumbledore suspects that there's a spy in the Order, but Sirius would never betray us! And he's Harry's godfather!"

"True, he'd never _willingly _betray us, but James; you have to admit that the man's more than a little… well… _reckless. _He could easily let something slip. Besides that, don't you think that he's a little too obvious? You and he are like brothers! As soon as Voldemort discovers that we're under Fidelius, Sirius is going to be his first target. The information can't be given out under Veritaserum or the like, but there are still methods to _encourage _people to willingly part with the information."

"True… Remus?"

"Too dangerous. Use your brain! What happens if there's an emergency on the full moon? Besides, the spy is disguised well. No one looks all that suspect in the Order, but someone has to be. And… we… I highly doubt it, but Remus _is _a werewolf. Is it possible that the man got sick of all the slander and secretly joined the other side?"

"_No! _Moony would never do that! But you're right, again, having a werewolf as secret keeper is a little too risky. But who else is there? The Longbottoms are targets already, and Wormtail is talentless. There's Dumbledore, I suppose…"

"No. We're not using the Headmaster. Besides the fact that the man has too many jobs to focus on already, if everyone decided to use his as secret keeper just because he's the Leader of our side of the war, he would have exclusive access to half of the wizarding world! That's too many secrets for one man. You're right about the Longbottoms; of course, it's too risky to use them as they're also going into hiding. I have an odd feeling about Wormtail, though… we could put up other wards…"

"No, I agree that we need to use the Fidelius. How about we start off with Sirius as secret keeper until we come up with a better idea?"

"Alright… I don't really like it, but it is the best idea that we've had. I wish we could use Severus, though, but that would be too dangerous."

"_Snivelous! _We can't use him! He's a _Death Eater!"_

"No he's not! Didn't you know that Dumbledore offered him a spy position? But no, it's still too dangerous to use him as he's in Voldemort's presence too often… and if he was found out, it would spell disaster for both him and us."

"Exactly! What… what? Spy?"

"Yes! Spy. Now, how about tomorrow, you cast the Fidelius with Sirius, while I do the beginning ritual with Harry?"

"Ok… wait… you're the Charms mistress!"

"_Yes,_ but I doubt that you know how to do the rituals that I'm planning, either, and they're far more difficult!"

"Oh, okay."

"I'm glad you agree."

"Errr… it's late…"

"I noticed."

"Right."

The following night was… interesting to say the least. While James and Sirius were putting the property under the Fidelius charm, (and, as a result, tearing down all of the other wards as the charm could not co-exist with wards. It was a trust-based charm and the other wards would undermine it.) Lily was getting Harry ready for the first ritual.

She had set up the 'ritual room' adjacent to the potions lab, and it was almost ready. It was warded so that uncontained magic couldn't escape and destroy the rest of the house and was empty apart from the ritual circle. She had studied the chant and Harry himself was ready. Normally the rituals were done outside as the moon and stars influenced it, but they had to make do with an artificial 'night sky' –the ceiling was charmed the same way as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Another influence on the ritual was the nature and animals surrounding (though outside only) of the ritual circle, so the young witch had gone to the extent of creating a miniature, uncontrolled 'outdoor' area inside the room, with many mundane and small animals in the room. Thankfully it was a full moon, so the ritual was at its strongest performed tonight- it was also the second reason as to why she had rushed so much to get the room ready, although she could not tell James even that, as per the oaths taken as the Head Unspeakable of her department. Harry had been required by ritual to eat as much food as he could manage for the first two meals of the day, before having only water for dinner, so the young boy had managed to eat an entire adult's meal twice in one day, although Lily was sure that he had major stomach cramps. Finally, at 7pm, it was time for the ritual. The two of them went down to the ritual room and Lily sat the barely-clothed boy down in the centre of the circle before moving away. She waited for him to settle down before she took a deep breath and began.

"Diliata Magicus Centrus! Diliata Magicus Centrus! Diliata Magicus Centrus! Replete Magicus Corus! Replete Magicus Corus! Replete Magicus Corus! Diliata Magicus Centrus! Diliata Magicus Centrus! Diliata Magicus Centrus! Replete Magicus Corus! Replete Magicus Corus! Replete Magicus Corus..." the chant went on, expanding and filling the 2 month olds magical core. After a quarter of an hour's chanting, Lily knew that his core would be flexible enough to handle the extra magic that he would be receiving over the next year, so she ended the chant and gulped down a throat-soothing potion before picking up the first of twelve magic-enhancing potions that the little boy would be taking over the year and gave it to him.

Most people thought that a person's magic grew steadily until they reached magical maturity. That wasn't true, though. A witch or wizard had approximately 3 magical 'growth spurts.' The first 'growth spurt' could start as young as 2 or as old as 8, depending on the size of the child's magic. The second 'growth spurt' happened around the age of 11, and was the reason that children got their wands at that age- their core just isn't usually big enough to handle channelling magic purposely until the second 'growth spurt.' The final one was generally the largest and happened at around 16 or 17 and signified a person coming magically of age. They would never get magically stronger beyond that age, and magic-enhancing rituals and spells had profoundly less impact if used after magical maturity- the common term for the final 'growth spurt.' In fact, these growth spurts were the reason why wandless magic is so rare. A child needs to get a firm grip on at least simple spell wandlessly _before _they are bound to a wand as the connection between wizard and wand made picking up wandless magic impossible. However, if the connection has already been made, it will not close with the wand's connection- however, Lily was one of the few people that knew that. The other problem with it is magical core size- a child would have to be above average magically to be able to perform even the simplest wandless magic before the age of 11 as their magic is usually too weak before their second 'growth spurt'- thus creating the rarity of wandless magic. In fact, the only two known wandless magic users are Dumbledore and Voldemort- the latter having learnt control in the orphanage he grew up in before he knew what it was. He, though, had never really bothered to pursue it beyond simple shields once he learnt about magic as it was so much more draining than magic with a wand. Lily knew all of this and was hoping that Harry would have enough magic before his second growth spurt to begin to learn wandless magic, but her hopes on him actually achieving it were low as she knew that she would not live long enough to see him reach an appropriate age to begin. She would need to put some thought into it. Meanwhile, she was ready to test his current magical level (before growth spurt.) The scale for adults was a magical reading of 0-10 for muggles, 11-50 a squib, 51-200 a low-powered wizard, 201-500 normal wizard, 501-1000 high-powered wizard, 1001-1500 low sorcerer, 1501-2000 high sorcerer, 20001- 2500 low mage, 2501- 3000 high mage, 3000 and beyond an arch-mage. A magical child before their first 'growth spurt' was usually around 10 or 11. The first spurt would generally bring them into a high-range squib, low-powered wizard area before they began to fill their own categories, becoming more and more unpredictable. In saying that magic doesn't grow apart from the 'spurts,' it is still similar to a muscle- the more it is worked, the larger your spurts would be. The same goes for physical exercise- it would increase the strength of the magical growth spurt- not that many wizards knew that, judging from their exercise habits- none at all. Lily was also worried about what the effects of fusing her and James' magic with Harry's would be. They were powered at 502 and 516 respectively, putting Harry in the 'low sorcerer' rank after only one 'growth spurt.' It would definitely make wandless magic possible, but he would have to learn control almost immediately otherwise his accidental magic would occur often and severely. The magic enhancing spells, potions and rituals would give him a lot of power as well and he was already showing signs of magic! The combination was spelling out 'severely overpowered wizard' to Lily, and she wasn't sure she liked that idea all that much… especially in a one year old! She knew the general rankings of the more powerful wizards in the world, though, and didn't like what she saw. Dumbledore was ranked at around 4000, giving himself a large buffer in the 'arch mage' group. He, though, wasn't the most powerful. Voldemort beat him, at around 4200, and Nicholas Flamel was around 100 points above him. Perenell Flamel also outranked Voldemort, though was slightly less powerful than her husband. There was a couple in France that also outranked Dumbledore and the most powerful person _alive _had a magical rating of over 5000. She would need to know Harry's magical potential _before _they made a decision on whether or not they should donate their magic to a small child. If they did, there was always the possibility of putting a slow-release block on his magic so that it was released small amounts at a time instead of a huge rush all at once. Lily sighed, before turning her wand once more on her son and silently sending the magical revealing charm. 40. Before his first 'growth spurt.' it was an extremely impressive number, but could still do with some work. Lily sighed again, hating the fact that she was conditioning her son to be a warrior for a war that had begun long before his birth and wouldn't be ended for a while, if Harry's age was anything to go by. She gently picked the small boy up and carried him up stairs to the nursery as he looked incredibly tired, before heading back downstairs to check on the men attempting to cast the Fidelius. They weren't doing all that well. The two of them had disabled the wards of the property, conveniently then forgetting about the charm they had sent out to cast. As Lily threw open the door in mock anger, she failed to notice the fat grey rat that scampered in around her.

Peter Pettigrew was amazed at his luck. First, Lily had given him free entry into the house, but secondly- his target was alone! No adult protection! This was going to be easier than he thought. His animagus form allowed him to travel up the stairs quickly and he made his way into the nursery, thinking about the job is master had given him- to get power readings on the little Potter and Longbottom. He had gone to the Longbottoms first as they didn't trust him as much and it would be easier to pull off a cover-up if he was caught there without having gone to the Potter's first. He had cast the charm to find out little Neville's power rating and his master had been disappointed in it. The boy showed no signs of being highly magical- although it was hard to tell, the boy seemed as though he would be an average powered wizard, leaning closer to the low side- but not by much. His master was almost certain that the little Potter would be the 'one,' whatever that meant, but he had been sent out to check on the boy's power rating anyway. 40- Wait, _40?_ _The Dark Lord is going to be interested in this, _the little rat thought; _no child should have so much magic at such as young age._ He was ready to pick the boy up and take him when a small, barely noticeable _pop_ rang through the room- the sound was barely noticeable, but the result was not. An elf- a high elf at that- was in the room for no apparent reason.

"Leave the boy," the woman said in a powerful but soft voice, "leave him. He is not yours to take, and you will leave him. Do not tamper with Fate- nor the elves," she said softly- but there was no denying her power. She meant business.

"O-o-o-ok…" trembled Wormtail, clearly in fright before he transformed back into rat form and raced outside- he left Harry Potter where he was, but he had all the information that his master wanted. In a few hours, the little boy would be Voldemort's top priority- he wanted him dead.

The elf, however, stayed in the room to look down at the boy.

"You are so small," she mused softly, "so small, so innocent- in so much danger. You will have a hard life, little one, with people hurting you on all sides. I wish I could help you, but there is little I can do, except…" the elf sighed, "an elfish blessing is such an honour... but it has little real value. Still, you could use all the help you can get… but would you even know? Until you are 11, at least, you will probably know nothing… and what does the blessing do? You get the ears… higher metabolism… similar boy shape- well, you would be a little taller, and your muscles would tone similar to ours if you put the effort in… but what would it do _magically? _Very little, I suppose… defensive and offensive magic wold come more easily, more naturally, as would healing magic… well, I suppose that is useful… the body shape might deter people from messing with you… maybe… you would _look_ more powerful, certainly, but most people can tell the difference between _looking _powerful and actually _being _powerful… so is the blessing worth it? It would certainly seal you fate- but then, he rat-man has already done that, hasn't he child? The silver-bearded one, too… yes, you would benefit from the blessing… it's not much, but it is something, I suppose, little one…" the beautiful elf sighed gently before pressing a slender finger to his lips and saying softly;

"Sleep, little one, you have received the blessing of the elves." She watched as his ears changed shape a little, looking like a cross between human and elvin ears. She smiled at the little child before disappearing in the _pop_ she had arrived in; leaving his parents clueless to the honour their child had just been granted.

Harry Potter would grow into the blessing gradually, the height and ears would come in time, but it would be such a slow process that those closest to him wouldn't notice the difference before he disappeared off in just over a years' time.

"Lily! It's Him! Take Harry and run, I'll hold him off!" James' panicked shout filled the house. Lily gasped before picking her son up and began to run up the stairs. She couldn't believe their luck- they had finished the rituals just over a week ago, and her son was now incredibly powerful for his age- but now she had other things to worry about. Lily knew it was fruitless, but she began heaping furniture in front of the doorway, hoping to hold him off but knowing it would only take a blasting curse to move it. She took a deep breath and looked at the baby in her arms.

"You're going to survive, Harry James Potter. I love you, my little angel," she whispered. The charms had already been placed to send her magic to her son as soon as she died, and James had done the same thing. A thought hit her as she heard the evil man begin to ascend the stairs. Lily whispered a charm to give her son the knowledge on how to construct mind shields and why they were important- hopefully they would also help him to remember times spent with his parents. The door was blasted open and Lily screamed before placing him in the cot and turning to shield him.

"Please, not Harry, not Harry…"

"Stand aside, you silly girl,"

"Not Harry, please, take me, kill me instead…"

"Stand aside!"

"No, have mercy! Not Harry!" Lily saw Voldemort get visibly angry and watched in horror as the deadly curse came rushing towards her. She crumpled to the ground as death enveloped her- it was just long enough to feel her magic leave her body and join with her sons.

Tom Marvolo Riddle- Lord Voldemort- had never felt closer to smiling than he did now.

"So you're the one prophesied to beat me," he mused, "so weak. Defenceless. Goodbye, Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!" Then he broke. What was that? He saw the green light reflecting back towards him and his eyes widened a fraction. _What is this magic? _He silently screamed, before his own killing curse hit him. The _pain. _He needed to leave, _now!_ Where to go? He felt broken, powerless- but surely one of his loyal Death Eaters would come and restore him. The now broken Tom Riddle fled the house leaving a boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead- still dripping blood and paving the way for a legend. Harry Potter would be forever famous. 

Albus Dumbledore is another man that holds a lot of fame and power. He also had a lot of people working for him to get things done quickly and without fuss. One of these 'jobs' was to get little Harry Potter out of the house and to his relatives home before the Ministry could get their hands on the Potter Will- which he, as Supreme Mugwump and Head of the Wizengamot, would have to seal so that it couldn't be accessed. He knew that, although it was a little distasteful, he would have to leave the boy to grow up with magic-hating relatives. That way, when he arrived at Hogwarts he would be a little easier to control and manipulate into the role Albus had for him. The muggles would keep him grounded. If they went a little too far… well, Albus knew how to cover his tracks. He wouldn't be held accountable. First, though, he actually had to get his hands on the infant.

"Hagrid," he addressed the man in front of him, "I need you to pick the boy up before anyone else finds him. Take him to number 4, Privet Drive, I'll be there and we can leave him with his relatives." The half giant was still sniffing- Lily and James Potter had been amongst his favourite people and he was loathe to leave Harry defenceless with the relatives Dumbledore had decided to leave him with- the ones that Lily complained about, but it was Dumbledore's orders. Two conflicting sides of Hagrid's personality were at war, but finally the 'support Dumbledore at all costs' side won out.

"Yes sir, I'll do that now. Poor Harry…" he broke off, sniffing, before leaving the older man's office to collect him- leaving Dumbledore to scheme.

"We can't have him going to Black; that would be destructive to my plans- that man has no sense of proper decorum! Harry Potter would grow up to be a pranking menace, not following the rules or recognising authority! Sirius Black cannot care for Harry. How, though… I can leave him with the Dursleys, but that won't stop his godfather seeking him out and taking him… and the man does have legal custody," the older man began to mutter once the office door was firmly closed, "so we need to get him out of the way. But how? He needs to be stripped of his responsibility; the only way to do that is to send him to Azkaban, though… Azkaban! What a good idea. Everyone will believe it if we say that he was Secret-keeper for the Potters… and he was… for a while. I can give evidence to the court that he was secret keeper… after all; he did give me the secret of the Potter's address. The only difficulty would be making sure that he doesn't get a trial… at least, that he doesn't get veritaserum… that will be difficult, unless he does something ridiculous, making him look guilty…" Dumbledore rambled on, his plans getting wilder and less humane as he went. Finally, the man finished his rambling and, hoping that Phineas Nigellus hadn't heard his plans, set to writing a letter.

_Dear Petunia,_

_It is my deepest regret to inform you of your sister's demise. _

_She was murdered last night by the Dark Lord Voldemort, along with her husband, leaving her only child, Harry, and orphan. You are the only relatives the boy has left, and keeping him in your home will grant you huge amounts of protection from 'our world.' I would encourage you to treat the boy as a human. The boy is incredibly famous in our world, and too many signs of abuse will bring them down upon you. _

_Thank you for your co-operation in this matter, and we will be in contact when it is time for the boy to start at Hogwarts._

_Albus Dumbledore_

The old man stared at the letter for a while, before adding a slight compulsion charm to it and sealing it up. Then he left intent on both imprisoning Sirius Black and receiving Harry at his Aunt's.

A few hours later, Albus Dumbledore was standing in front of number 4, Privet Drive. There were many things he had to do to get the property ready for the little celebrities' life there. He had blood-based wards, certainly, but there were others as well- directed at the inhabitants. There was one that encouraged them to stay at number 4 and not move- as Dumbledore needed them somewhere where they could be monitored. There was a ward encouraging them to treat the two boys unequally along with wards to keep adult magical people out. He knew that Petunia was a squib, but her magic wasn't enough to register in the wards. He also made sure that animagus could pass the wards as he might have need of sending Minerva- or Severus- to bring him his Hogwarts letter. He put up a few others to make the house a little safer- it was all he could do for them, taking the boy in, before he disillusioned himself and waited at the top of the street. He watched as Minerva, (in her animagus form) took up a sentinel position on the wall facing the Dursley residence. He watched as life went past on Privet Drive that day. Finally, it was almost time for Hagrid to arrive, so he reluctantly shook out his muscles before standing up and removing the disillusionment charm. He walked purposely towards number 4, watching in amusement as the small tabby cat twitched it's tail in obvious annoyance. She would be one to watch, as the Potter boy would always be her unofficial nephew and god child. She was always overprotective of children. When she transformed, he tried to keep his annoyance under wraps as she protested to his placement of the boy in that household. He manoeuvred her into a situation where she felt guilty of suggesting anything against it, and just a little late, Hagrid turned up…_ on a flying motorcycle! _Dumbledore almost growled at his own stupidity. He had forgotten how protective Hagrid and Sirius were of each other. This might make some complications arise in his plan. Oh well. He put the little boy down on the doorstep before turning away. He called both Hagrid and Minerva with him before pretending to disapparated- really, just quickly putting on a disillusionment charm. It was quite amusing listening to people announcing that he could disapparate silently. That was impossible! Once he was sure that both his staff members were gone, he turned back to the small bundle on the doorstep. He needed to check the magical power of him. If he was below average, he could block the magical power. If he was too strong, however, the blocks would only serve to slowly increase his power whilst it was under wraps until the binding disintegrated leaving an extremely powerful magical child annoyed at him. He had made that mistake with Tom Riddle.

Albus Dumbledore prided himself on being able to handle all different types of situations. Harry Potter's magical power, though, floored him. 1379! For a child! This boy was going to be incredibly powerful, and unfortunately- any blocks placed wold increase his magic by huge amounts. He couldn't have another wizard more powerful than him. Really, it was beginning to destroy his reputation having so many people more powerful than him. Speaking of people more powerful than him, Dumbledore knew that for his plan to succeed, Dudley Dursley couldn't show any magical prowess. It would destroy the plan. So, a heavily disillusioned Albus Dumbledore silently let himself in to the house and crept into the nursery. His results of the scan made him shiver. The immensely obese child was on the way to becoming a low-powered wizard- _very _low powered, but it would be enough to destroy him. So he blocked it. Dudley Dursley would never become a wizard. He was now a squib. With that done, the most politically powerful person in the wizarding world took his leave.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2; Meet the Cobra**_

"…the boy is abused, Albus! Abused! Stop telling me not to worry about it! It's not fine! _What _people will say when he turns up at Hogwarts, I have no idea!" a shrill, female voice was drifting out through the gap between the door and the wall. Severus strained to hear more, forcing himself to keep from barging in on the meeting to demand just _who _was being abused and _why _Albus thought that intervention was unnecessary.

"… perfectly fine, Arabella, you're exaggerating, I'm sure. Meanwhile, the boy _will_ be fine. They're his only remaining family!" Severus barely kept the snort in. '_Family' doesn't mean they can't abuse someone, Albus, _thought Severus viciously, _in fact, that very 'family' aspect can quite often make it worse- as you should know very well!_

"Honestly, Albus, you're always trying to think the best of someone- an admirable trait, but also one of your major weaknesses! How many students do you let go home to abusive homes because you think that they _must be exaggerating?_ How many? Too many, I'm sure.

"No, it's _you,_ Arabella, always thinking the worst of someone. They are a perfectly capable family to take care of the boy." Severus heard a hard edge in the older man's voice and knew he was concealing something- from either her, himself, or both of them.

"Albus, _you had better send someone over here, or I will personally take care of the matter myself! _The muggle police will be _very _interested in what's going on in that household, I'm sure," the woman sniffed angrily. _Muggle Police? _Thought Severus interestedly, _but it sounds as though this boy hasn't come to Hogwarts yet…_

"No you won't Arabella! You will keep out of this matter. You will not mention this to anyone. If you do, I will know and you will find yourself in a very bad situation."

"Albus! I can't! That boy will be destroyed before he gets to Hogwarts!"

"We can fix the damage easily."

"No you _can't! _Remember Severus? Tom Riddle? Remember Lucius? Grindelwald? They've all had similar situations- except the boy has it _worse! _What are you trying to do? Create another Voldemort?"

"_No, _Arabella, I-" but whatever Albus was, Severus never found out as he had just entered the office, unable to hold himself together anymore. He gave a slight nod to the figure in the fireplace before turning to the man- Albus Dumbledore.

"You wished to see me, Albus?"

"Ah, Severus, I-" but the man was cut off again.

"Fine! Ignore me! I'm going! You'd better send someone around though, Albus and woe betide you if you don't! My floo password and address is _Kneasle _and 6 Privet Drive in case you've _forgotten, _as you have with so many other things," she said disdainfully, sneaking a surreptitious nod at Severus before disappearing from the flames. Severus smirked inwardly, knowing that Dumbledore never really noticed Slytherin acknowledgements like that one, before he turned back to the man.

"You were saying?" he sneered.

"Ah… I was just going to inform you that I need some more lemon drops… all three types." Severus stopped himself from rolling his eyes. _All three types. _The first 'type' was benign, but the other two weren't- they were spiked with potion. One with calming and trust droughts and the other with a mild dose of veritaserum to compel people to tell the truth. Those lemon drops were dangerous. As was the tea, now he thought about it.

"Is that all?" he said, trying to appear unconcerned. He _really _wanted to try out the new Floo address.

"Of course… of course… unless you have a problem with your Slytherins?" Severus almost growled at the man. He didn't care about the Slytherins! He only asked to look polite in front of the staff. No, he had favourites- namely the Gryffindors as they were easier to manipulate… along with the Hufflepuffs.

"No, there is no problems at current. If that is all, I am rather busy at the moment and have several errands to run…"

"Off you go, then," the older man said patronisingly. Severus pushed down the bile in his throat and nodded curtly before sweeping out of the room leaving a tired Headmaster to drop his 'kindly' act and go into a temper tantrum. Severus didn't notice any of that, because he was currently trying to get to a Floo as quickly as possible.

"Arabella Figg," he nodded curtly when he saw her.

"Oh, Severus, thank you for coming, I know that Albus won't send anyone… as usual," she grumbled.

"As usual?" repeated Severus, a little disturbed.

"Of course! I've been telling him _every year! _For 5 years! Honestly, Severus, what 6 year old should be expected to mow the lawn, wash the car, rake the lawn, sweep the drive, deal with the washing, re-paint and –stain the patio, mop, dust and _cook every meal, _getting only _leftovers _if he's _lucky_! Every day! The boy has no clothes of his own, they are hand-me-downs from his cousin who is the same age as him and I have never one- _once _seen him play with a toy or have any sort of fun at all. He's always coming around with the most _hideous_ bruises, too…" Severus swallowed again. _6 years old… hideous bruises… no sort of fun at all… sounds like he doesn't even have my comfort of having a mother to provide love… who are we talking about, anyway… Draco's age… opposite treatment, as well… _Severus' thoughts were random and disconnected, going round in circles but never quite making sense.

"Where- where is the boy we are talking about?" Arabella said nothing, instead walking over to the window and pulling back the net curtains to reveal a tiny boy in thin, baggy, overlarge clothes handling a shovel trying to clear the driveway… in a snow storm. Severus swallowed before turning back to Arabella.

"He is magical?"

"Yes."

"Does he know?"

"No." Severus sighed.

"Parents?"

"Both magical, both dead. He's living with his Aunt and Uncle. Only blood relations still alive," said Arabella softly.

"And the Aunt and Uncle?"

"Hate magic. Always have. The Aunt's the squib sister of the boy's mother."

"So jealousy. This is going to be hard. I will try not to remove him as that will clue Albus in, but I will attempt to give him some comfort in that home," he said, trying to mentally prepare himself to face and abused 6 year old. He turned towards the door, before hearing Arabella call him back.

"Severus- the boy is nervous of people- especially adults, especially men. You are both."

"So what do you expect me to do?" he sneered.

"The boy is a Parselmouth," she said shortly, before turning away from him. _Parselmouth, _mused Severus; _that might make things a little easier…_

Harry was shivering. It was freezing outside and he was not allowed to own a jacket- nor wear one.

"Jacket's aren't for freaks like you," his Aunt had sneered at him when he asked for one. He was currently shovelling all of the snow off the drive to allow the Dursleys to move their car whenever they felt like it. He desperately wanted to be inside- his hands were taking on a blue tinge and his nose was red and running. His teeth were chattering and he was thinking longingly of his cupboard- which he had never done before. Harry paused for a moment to wipe his feverish forehead and looked around the front garden. The hedges were trimmed neatly and the grass was short and neat. The snow was spread like a thin blanket over the grass leaving little green grass tips littered amongst the white ground. The flower beds had the snow pushed out towards the edges leaving a few wilting flowers struggling to cling to life. It was a miserable-looking winter garden- but it was neat, and orderly- _normal. _That's what his Aunt had called it. She always wanted things to look _normal. _That was when Harry saw the bush nearest him rustle, and he heard a hissing sound, announcing that the ground was _too cold…_ Harry smiled softly and went over to the bush. Sure enough, there was a tiny black snake slithering around the bottom of the hedge whining about the temperature.

"Hello, little sssnake," said Harry softly, "you look cold…"

"Of courssse I am cold, little one! What doesss it look like to you?"

"Sssorry, sssir."

"Why are you appologisssing? You were jussst making an obssservation… and there isss no need to call me sssir…"

"Ok… but what ssshould I call you?"

"My name isss Ssseverusss… what is yoursss, little one?" Harry bit his lip.

"I'm not sssure… my Uncle callsss me Freak or Boy, but I can remember other people that once sussed to call me Harry…" said Harry nervously.

"Ssso I ssshall call you Harry… Harry."

"Thanksss, I like that name… the people that called me Harry were ssso nice to me… I think they were my parentsss, but Aunt and Uncle sssaid that they died in a car crasssh. I tried to remember the crasssh, but I can't. I can jussst remember a green light and pain on my forehead…"Harry wasn't quite sure why he told the snakes things like that, but he did anyway, knowing that most people couldn't talk to them. He did notice, however, that this snake had stiffened a little upon hearing his name and even more upon hearing what he could remember about the crash.

"I have heard of you, Harry," said the snake slowly, "and I have heard of your parentsss… They didn't die in a car crasssh!"

"They didn't? How do you know? How did they die?"

"That isss a long ssstory, Harry, but if you have enough time I can tell you." Harry wanted to agree.

"Boy! What are you doing, lazing around! Get back to work or you will be in your cupboard without meals for another week!" bellowed an angry voice.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon, sir!" Harry called back softly before turning to Severus the Snake.

"My Uncle sssaysss that I have to continue doing my work right now…"

"He threatened you to do your work," said the snake blandly.

"It isss the sssame thing," replied Harry softly.

"No it isssn't! Threatsss are bad, and thisss work isss too much for sssomeone your age."

"Aunt Petunia sssaysss that it isss work good enough for a freak."

"You're not a Freak, though, Harry."

"Yesss I am!"

"Why do you sssay that?"

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon sssaid ssso."

"Do you believe them? They lied about how your parentsss died."

"I don't know… I don't feel like a freak, but they alwaysss sssay that I am…"

"They are jealousss of you?"

"Why?"

"That isss part of the ssstory I have to tell you about your parentsss."

"How do you know about my parentsss?"

"That will be included in the ssstory…"

"BOY!" An incredibly fat man came storming out into the front lawn, "BOY! I told you to get back to work, you little _freak! _How dare you disobey me! Worthless little mongrel, we should have left you at an orphanage! What are you doing? Talking to a- SNAKE! SNAKE IN THE GARDEN! GIVE ME THAT SHOVEL, BOY!" Harry nervously handed the shovel over to his Uncle and watched in horror as the man hit the tiny snake with it. a kink appeared, and Harry knew that it was badly injured. He silently held his hand out for the shovel and turned back to the drive to continue his chores. As soon as Vernon had re-entered the house, Harry ran back to the injured snake.

"Ssseverusss! Are you hurt too badly? He sssometimesss doesss that when he ssseesss a sssnake in the garden, but I can help you if you like. If you ssslither into my pocket, I can look after you until you feel better. My cupboard isss warm and there are plenty of ssspidersss to eat… sssometimesss there isss even moussse or two…"

"Yesss, thank you Harry," said the snake, slithering painfully into the offered pocket. The little boy finished his chores as quickly as he could before retreating to his cupboard, knowing that his Uncle's earlier threat was not an empty one, and he would be in the crapped space for a while.

"ssso, you sssaid that you know what happened to my parentsss… the truth…"

"Yesss, I do, and thisss will take a while. Do you believe in magic?"

"Aunt and Uncle sssay that magic doesssn't exissst."

"Didn't we agree that they are lying to you about mossst thingsss?"

"Yesss… ssso doesss magic exissst?"

"Yesss, it doesss. That isss the firssst part of my ssstory. Both of your parentsss were magical people… witchesss and wizardsss. They were both good people."

"But witchesss are bad!"

"No, they're not, thatsss jussst what mugglesss sssay, Harry, and they don't know anything about real magical people… they don't even know they exissst. Mugglesss are people without magic…"

"Okay, ssso my parentsss were a witch and wizard and they were good, not evil like most people sssay about witchesss…"

"Correct. There wasss a war going on, and the Dark, evil Wizard wasss getting lotsss of followersss and killing people. He didn't like mugglebornsss and half-bloodsss which are people with one or both parentsss being mugglesss. He wanted to dessstroy them all ssso that only people with all-magical relativesss could live and then he could be the leader of the world… lotsss of people ssstood up to him becaussse he wasss doing the wrong thing, ssso he killed them. Your parentsss stood againssst him, ssso he decided to murder them to get them out of hisss way. He came to your houssse in the night and killed your parentsss. He tried to kill you asss well, but he couldn't. He ssshot the killing curssse at you and it rebounded on him. He wasss ssstopped that night, by you which made you famousss in the magical world asss being the one to stop him, asss well asss the 'Boy Who Lived' becaussse no one hasss ever lived after that curssse was ssshot at them." That was a lot for the (admittedly smart) 6 year old to take in and comprehend.

"Ssso… my parentsss didn't die in a car crasssh, they were killed by an evil man."

"Yesss, Harry."

"Ummm… okay… and I can't tell Aunt and Uncle becaussse they would get me into trouble. Why do I live here?"

"You live here becaussse the Headmassster of your parentsss old ssschool thought that you would be sssafer here. The evil wizard ssstill hasss lotsss of followers in the world who managed to give the people in charge lotsss of money to essscape from going to jail. Your mother died to sssave you, so that gave you protection if you live with someone from her family. That meant you had to live with your Aunt becaussse ssshe isss your mother'sss sssissster." Harry didn't fully understand, but he had always been told not to ask questions. He knew that he asked more questions to this snake that he ever had before, and didn't want to push his luck so he stayed silent.

"Why do you asssk?" Severus kept the conversation going.

"Becaussse I don't like it here."

"What do your Aunt and Uncle do to you?" Harry stiffened. He was _not _allowed to answer that question.

"It'sss alright, Harry, you are allowed to tell me." The little boy relaxed, trusting the snake before he remembered that he was supposed to be helping the little snake recover from his Uncle hitting it. He began to busy himself with the bandages while he talked.

"Well, I have to do lotsss of choresss every day while my cousssin Dudley isss at ssschool. I can only do indoor choresss while he isss gone, though. If I don't do them well enough, Uncle hitsss me. If I make a missstake in the kitchen, then I either get hit or Aunt burnsss my hand on the ssstove. If I do them well enough, then they let me eat the leftoversss for dinner."

"What do you eat in the morning? Or if you don't do your choresss well enough?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Thatsss bad. You need to eat more food if you are going to grow to be a proper sssize."

"I'm sssorry!"

"Don't be, itsss not your fault… it isss your Aunt and Unclesss. If anyone found out that they were treating you thisss way, they would get into a lot of trouble."

"Really?"

"Yesss"

"So I don't dessserve it becaussse I'm a freak?"

"NO! You are not a _freak, _you are a young wizard and no one dessservesss that treatment." It was amazing the transformation that simple sentence had on such a young, impressionable mind.

"I'm a wizard! And they lied, I don't dessserve what they do to me…"

"Of courssse you are a wizard! You will be very powerful one day. You can ssstop bandaging my tail if you like, I can fix it later when I get back home. I will bring you sssome thingsss to help you in here tomorrow if I can."

"Thank you! What can you bring, though? You are a sssnake…"

"Magic isss a very ussseful thing, little Harry."

"You can do magic?"

"Yesss…"

"Ssso thatsss how you know all about it."

"Indeed, young wizard."

Severus Snape was mad at the way the boy was being treated. It was worse than his own childhood, and the boy was only 6 years of age! He knew that he needed to get out of the cupboard the boy was being kept in, so he tried something he never had before- wandless magic in his animagus form. It took the angry potions master several tries, but finally he managed to unlock the door and slither out. He made sure to lock the door behind him so that he didn't make this 'Uncle Vernon' mad, and left the house. Once he felt as though he was far enough away and in a safe place, he transformed back into human and apparated to Hogsmeade hoping to do a little late-night shopping. He didn't have that much money, but he was more than willing to spend it on the little abused child. Besides, Albus would always give him more money if he asked for it, although he had a sneaking suspicion about where the money came from. a few days ago, he would have found it amusing and a good revenge. Now he found it a little disturbing. Oh well. If worse came to worse, he could always claim the Prince Vault which had been inactive since his mother died. He quickly made his way to the luggage store and found what he was looking for. It was a plain trunk, but quite large, the inside even more so. Speaking of the inside, it had three compartments, all accessible from the inside of the first only. The first was mostly for general storage, though it did have sever racks for potions phials. He added more racks so that they filled the whole trunk. The second compartment was set up as a library, though it was currently empty apart from the shelves. It was also equipped to hold ink and parchment. The third was mainly general storage, though Severus was hoping to fill it with a few toys for the lonely boy to play with when he was locked in the cupboard for overly long periods of time. The trunk itself was almost indestructible by muggle means- not that they would be able to see it. It could only be seen by magical people, and magical people keyed into it at that! He didn't want the Dursleys to see it and confiscate it. Severus bought the trunk and shrunk it before heading down the road to Scrivenshafts. There, he bought several quills and ink, knowing that the boy would have to be quite adept at using one by the time he came to Hogwarts, and most magical people began to learn to use the quill at his age. He knew that they would break very easily while he was still learning, so he bought more than enough but made sure he bought cheap ones. The ink was one designed for small people as it wouldn't mark anything besides parchment, so the boy wouldn't have ink blobs all over the cupboard. Severus also bought several rolls of parchment and notebooks as well as two more special books- communication notebooks, so the boy could write to him once he improved a little and they could correspond. He could give a few lessons that way, as well. Now that he thought about it, that wold mean admitting to the boy that he was actually human. _Oh well, _he thought, _that cannot be helped. _He paid for the things and asked the store owner where he could get texts aimed at 6 year olds in reading and writing as well as other subjects they should be learning- such as mathematics, history and etiquette- and they were added in for free. Severus suspected that it was because the man couldn't stop laughing at the thought of Severus Snape the Snarky Potions Master being kind to a 6 year old. After putting the few books and writing supplies in the trunk, he made his way back to Hogwarts and made sure to look frustrated enough making his way back to his quarters that no one bothered him. Smirking, Severus made his way to the stash of his godson's toys whenever Lucius was busy and the little brat had to say with him. _Draco won't notice if these go missing,_ he thought, adding a few of them into the trunk and leaving the rest. The two compartments he had begun filling still looked embarrassingly empty, but it would have to do for now. He then made his way determinedly to the potions lab, thinking over the potions he would need to include.

"Child's nutrient potions… might need to make them automatically refilling, might be easier that adding in enough for the boy, healing salves… plenty of those… skele-gro… sounds as though he might have a few broken bones, so that will be useful… hmmm… bruise salves… muscular potions… pepper-up… child still has a mild flu… fever-reducer… pain-reliever… he'll need a lot of that, by the sound of it… nutrient potions aren't good enough meals… can I liquefy meals? Sounds terrible… could get the house elves to cook enough for a 6 year old… to last a long time, stasis charm would be useful there… phial or two of plain water… that could easily have a re-filling charm on it… Every child should be able to have pumpkin juice once or twice, that can go in… might need a phial or two of sleeping draught… tell him not to drink it every night… I wonder if I could use that potion I invented… Dumbledore would have my head if he knew I let someone use them… I don't care, he could use them… it might make teaching him easier… everyone knows that I don't have much patience… I wouldn't even give them to Draco, though… No, Harry needs them more, though… which ones to give him… English… those Dursleys don't seem to have given him an incredible vocabulary… Latin would help him when he comes to Hogwarts… French is a main magical language… Beauxbatons makes it important for him to speak that language… Bulgarian would be helpful, thanks to Durmstrang… Greek, Chinese and German are all important… Italian and Spanish… plenty of people come from there as they don't have their own school… Welsh is useful… plenty of spells are in it… same goes for Russian… Romanian as well… that's a lot of languages for one boy though, could get quite confusing… that's English, Latin, French, Bulgarian, Greek, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish, Welsh, Russian and Romanian… will he be able to handle all of that? The potion makes it easier to make the language feel natural, though… it would feel like English… I'm worrying too much, the boy will be able to handle it… he seemed incredibly intelligent considering his situation… he might want a language that few know to help him _release frustrations _in, though… it can be exceedingly useful if you don't want to insult someone… Japanese and Indonesian are both quite obscure in the magical world… might be easier to have two so that if someone speaks one, he can use the other… yes… so that's fourteen language potions… I'm sure I will think of more potions if I need too…" Severus continued to mumble under his breath as he collected the potions that he mentioned and adder re-filling charms to the phials. He thought about adding a note to explain what all the potions were for when he remembered that the boy didn't know how to read (he assumed, as he '_can only do indoor chores when Dudley's at school'_) He knew that he would have to be with Harry when he first got the trunk, in his animagus for, of course- but he wished there was a potion that allowed people to be able to read properly, which would make his task a lot easier as he would only have to teach him to write. That was when he remembered what he had been working on for Draco as a birthday present. The potion he wished he had. One that would automatically teach him to read while he was asleep. Severus had never wanted to whisper '_Brilliant!' _under his breath than he did now, but contained himself when he remembered that that was what the Gryffindor students did. Though he had no doubt that he was currently helping a future Gryffindor. He quickly ran to the store room and brought out the reading potion and placed in it the final spot in the potion rack before h called his house elf.

"Tibby!"

"Yes, master?" asked the small creature that had just popped into the room.

_Pity there isn't a potion that can allow humans to do elvin magic, that would be quite useful, _mused Severus.

"Tibby, I would like you and any other house elves you can recruit together to cook enough meals to last a 6 year old for half a year, however, I want them all to be _healthy meals. _Nothing unhealthy. modify my own if you like. The boy is small and needs meals that will help him get stronger and fitter as fast as possible while boosting his immune system at the same time. If you could add a Stasis to them all before bringing them back, that would be acceptable."

"When do you need them by, Master?"

"How much time do you believe you will require?"

"Tibby can have them ready in half an hour, master. Do you need drinks with the meals?"

"No drinks are requires, thank you Tibby, and that is all. The timeframe you have set is perfectly acceptable." Tibby bowed and popped away. Most people would find that elf's speech incredible compared to most, but Severus merely smirked when someone mentioned that to him. _Who do they think I used to test my language potions, Lucius?_ The potions master then sat down to think about the cupboard he had been in earlier that day. There were no toys, but that was already being remedied. The cupboard itself was filthy and would need a cleaning charm. It was tiny, and he would need space to put the trunk, but he could easily add a storage space, and enlarge the cupboard, but that would mean warding it to either keep the muggles away from it or make it look normal to them. Severus personally preferred the first. The cot was small and filthy and looked uncomfortable and the bedclothes were non-existent. There was only a blanket and it was thread-bare- it looked like the cheap baby blanket he had given Lily when he was still angry at her. That would have to go. _So, I'm replacing the cot, giving him sheets and blankets, cleaning and enlarging it, warding it to keep the muggles away…might as well keep going and add a desk, chair, rug, lights, bathroom… hmmm… that's not such a bad idea… could use a paint job… merlin… I suppose if I'm going to inform him about being human, I might as well include a comfortable place for me to sit… I wonder if Hogwarts has the things that I need… I'll ask Tibby when she gets back… Sound good, the trunk has books, so he won't need a shelf for them or any other belongings… might need a time-turner to get all of this done while he's asleep… oh, silencing charms on it might do him some good…_ Severus sat and thought about what he had just brought upon himself when a group of house elves popped into the room laden with small meals and announcing that they were all under stasis and hot. Severus nodded and quickly placed them in the trunk before dismissing them all except for Tibby.

"Tibby, I need you to find out if there are some spare things in the castle that won't be missed if U take them."

"Tibby will try, master, what do you need?" Severus smirked internally. the elf could speak proper English, but addressing himself in third person was a habit too deeply ingrained.

"I need a lot of things; a bed, desk and desk chair, two armchairs, sheets and blankets, a rug, things to let me install a bathroom, something similar to muggle lights and a tin of paint or two, all in plain but bright colours as it is for a 6 year old child."

"Of course, master, Hogwarts has all of those things. Where are you making this room? Tibby can help you get it set up faster, if you like."

"Thank you, Tibby, that would be appreciated. You just solved a problem for me. Please go and retrieve those things and then you can come with me to set it up."

"Thank you, master," the elf said softly before popping away to retrieve the required items. Severus stared at the space for a few seconds before he sat down and began to prepare for a sleepless night. He downed a pepper-up potion and picked up his wand before closing the lid on the little trunk and shrinking it to fit in his pocket. He grabbed his travelling cloak and waited at the Floo impatiently for the house-elf to get back. Finally, there was an unmistakeable pop and the elf was back in the room with a pocket bulging from what was unmistakeably shrunken furniture.

"Tibby has got all that you requested, Master." Severus nodded his thanks.

"I am going to floo out, and ask you to please join me once I am there," he said shortly before stepping into the fireplace and calling out the floo address.

"Severus, you're back again! I was just about to go to bed, myself, but I can wait up for you if you like?"

"Thank you, Arabella, but I may be a while. It is impossible to retrieve Harry from the house, as it would alert the Headmaster but I intend to make his life a little more comfortable for him and it may take me a length of time."

"What are you planning? You have a _house elf _to assist you?" she added the last part sounding a little bemused.

"The boy sleeps in a _cupboard. _I thought an enlargement charm or two, some new furniture and a paint job and cleaning spell or two wouldn't go down the wrong way… provided I ward the space properly and I am giving him a few… _supplies_… meals under stasis, healing, nutrient and other potions, books, writing utensils, a toy or two… _bedding_… Tibby is here to help me as it would be difficult for me to complete this otherwise. A bathroom might be going in as well," said Severus, feeling slightly agitated. Arabella smiled at the man.

"If this gets out, people may start beginning to think that you actually have a _heart," _she said amusedly.

"This will _not _be getting out! Quite apart from my reputation, imagine what it would do to both him and myself when a Death Eater found out!"

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy your… cupboard redecorating," she said the last part distastefully.

"I will, believe me," the man said before drawing his wand and placing disillusionment and silencing charms on himself, trusting the house-elf to do the same before leaving the house and walking next door. He silently let himself into the house next door and walked swiftly to the cupboard that had been occupying his thoughts for hours. He opened the door for the house elf to begin the space modifications, knowing that he would remember his promise of making sure the boy did not wake up during the renovations. Severus, meanwhile, began to ward from the outside. First, he made sure that muggles would not want to approach it, even less _look inside _so that Harry wouldn't get into trouble for renovating. He then added another ward so that no wizards apart from Harry and himself could even _see _the door, though he made sure that squibs _could… _as he was one of the few people that knew the truth about Lily and Petunia's parentage. The silencing charms were easy enough to put up, so he opened the door to see that Tibby had made a good start. The elf had made it a respectable size- slightly larger than a normal child's room, and was working in the corner where an extra wall had been added and the bathroom was being added in the small space behind. The cupboard-turned-room was also clean and smelled fresh. Severus pulled the still-small trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it. Hoping that Tibby knew what he was doing, he went to collect a small drop of the sleeping boy's blood to key him into the trunk so that he could access it. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to undo the elf's shrinking charms, Severus took to vanishing the things that Harry wasn't using and moving him onto the bed when Tibby had it out. That was when he remembered that the elf was perfectly capable of vanishing old items and was better at re-decorating than he was… but the boy needed healing potions, and it would be easier for him to spell them into the boy while he was asleep than getting him to drink them all… not to mention he could give him more… with that thought in mind, Severus opened the trunk and began pulling them out one by one. First went a fever-reducer, and Severus was pleased to note his temperature went right down and his breathing evened up. That meant the fever either wasn't too bad or was close to breaking- but he had a hunch it was the latter. Next went a nutrient potion, though there was no obvious benefit as it would take weeks or even months for their benefits to be obvious. The same happened with the skele-gro, although he would at least not need a course of them, they just took a while to act... and were painful… a muscular potion would be useful in helping his muscles develop, so he added that and was shocked when he realised how _obvious _it was. That was when he realised that there was a glamour on him… on his _ears, _more specifically… Severus was curious. He took it off, and gasped. _elvin ears, _he thought to himself, _he has been blessed by the elves… the prophecy rings true. _He reapplied the glamour, before continuing, glad that the blessing was the thing making the potions reacting like that and not him brewing a potion wrong. He knew the blessing would be a great help, though, in getting the boy back into shape. That was when Severus realised that the language and reading potions were supposedly disgusting and still needed sleep for them to work, so he spelled the 15 more potions into the boy, knowing that there would be no adverse reactions as they would still work with the others. He just hoped the boy wouldn't feel overwhelmed when he woke up knowing how to read and speak in 14 different languages. Once he was finished that, he took out the healing and bruise salve and began applying them to the tine, underweight boys' external injuries and what he saw shocked him. The lacerations on his back looked suspiciously like belt marks and the bruises looked far too prominent to be internal only. Sure enough, a quick diagnostic charm revealed internal bleeding and bruising. Shivering, Severus began working on the injuries hoping that his healing skills would be enough as there wasn't another option. When he was done, Severus spelled a pain-relieving potion into the boy as a safety precaution and sat down on the grown wearily. His skills had been enough, but there had been lot of severe injuries, including the bruising on his skull. Severus shivered. They boy was lucky to not have brain injuries. Once he regained enough strength, Severus stood up and began to look about the room and like what he was seeing. The walls had been painted a periwinkle blue and looked much nicer (and cleaner) than they had been before. The wooden floor almost looked darker and polished. The ceiling didn't look like the underside of a staircase, thanks to the elf- it was a plain white colour and looked as flat and ceiling-like as it was possible and the muggle-style lights looked nice against it. The four-poster Harry was currently curled up on was a dark wood and quite handsome, with white sheets and hangings, but a blue duvet. The desk and chair were pushed up neatly against the wall and looked as inviting as was possible for something designed to do work on… the little elf had even managed to procure page and quill holders, childish ink-stands, muggle paper, pens and crayons and arranged them to look nice. The light green armchairs looked invitingly soft in another corner of the room an d cushions had been added nicely. The bathroom the elf had worked on first was not overly luxurious but it was neat and clean- the bath even had an extra tap for bubbles which the boy would enjoy. The elf was just laying the dark blue rug in the middle of the room, so Severus smiled before closing the trunk and depositing it next to the desk before turning to the obviously exhausted elf who was straightening up, finished.

"You ave done well, Tibby, the room looks excellent… just right for him."

"Thank you, Master," said the delighted elf. Severus nodded.

"How is the boy sleeping, and is it safe to wake him?"

"Oh, yes, Master, the boy is sleeping with one of your sleeping draughts!" said the elf with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Severus smirked inwardly, knowing that only his elf would use potions to complete a task.

"Thank you, Tibby, you may go back to Hogwarts now." The elf nodded and bowed, before popping back. Severus then pulled a potion out of his belt, designed to wake individuals in a potion-induced sleep, while ensuring that they woke up fully energised. They were rarely used as they were highly addictive, but Severus knew that it would be safe for now. He spelled it into the sleeping boy before quickly transforming into his Animagus form knowing that a full-grown man would only terrify the boy who was going to be incredibly confused when he woke.

Harry Potter groaned softly as he began to wake. He felt… odd. His cot seemed softer than usual, and he didn't feel as sore as he usually did. He felt cooler than he had in almost a week, and he couldn't remember being able to _breathe _so well in his cupboard before. He sighed to himself, before cracking his eyes open a little… before they flew open in shock. He wasn't in his cupboard, but a _room. He was in a bedroom… _and it was even nicer than Dudley's! Not to mention _cleaner. _

"I'm dreaming," he mumbled to himself, awed.

"You are not dreaming," hissed a small voice from near the feet of the bed- wait, _bed?_

"Ssseverusss?" Harry hissed back in shock, "what happened? What do you mean, I'm not dreaming? Why am I in a room? Where'sss my cupboard?"

"Harry, you are in your cupboard… I jussst modified it a little bit. Don't worry, your Aunt and Uncle won't notice the difference… I alssso healed your injuriesss… and might have given you a potion or two to help you learn sssome new languagesss to help you when you enter the magical world asss well asss a few more obssscure languagesss in cassse you wisssh to sssay sssomething that othersss ssshould not underssstand…" the little snake hissed.

"Wow… thatsss incredible… what languagesss did you help me with… and are they all _necessssssary, _or jussst _helpful?_"

"I gave you Latin, French, Bulgarian, Greek, Chinessse, German, Italian, Ssspanisssh, Welsssh, Russssssian, Romanian, Japanessse, and Indonesssian along with a reading potion ssso that you will be able to read all of the languagesss that you can ssspeak… and mossst of them are helpful. Englisssh isss the only necessssssary language, although most ssspellsss are in Latin and othersss are in mossst of the languagesss that I mentioned… Japanessse and Indonesssian being the two that you will mossst likely not learn ssspellsss in… I alssso gave you an Englisssh potion to help you with your vocabulary as those Dursssleys that you ssspeak of ssseem incapable of holding an intelligent conversssation."

"Wow… Thank you, Ssseverusss…ssso can I ssspeak them all already, or will they jussst help me learn them?"

"You are welcome, little Harry, and normally you would need to sssleep before the potionsss let you ssspeak the language perfectly- with asss much eassse asss you ssspeak Englisssh, however, I ssspelled them into you whilssst you were sssleeping, ssso you ssshould have no trouble ssspeaking them now if you wissshed to…"

"Ssseverusss, thank you," hissed Harry, amazed.

"Again, you are mossst welcome. Now, you can alssso read, Thanksss to another potion- though both the language and reading potionsss are sssecret, ssso you can't tell anybody!"

"I won't! Wow, I can read… I've alwaysss wanted to be able to read… Aunt Petunia alwaysss tellsss me to read the recipesss, but I _can't…_"

"Now you can," hissed Severus, sounding unimpressed with the way Petunia behaved, "now if you get up out of that incredibly comfortable bed, I can ssshow you the other thingsss that I have done to the room…"

"Oh, I'm sssorry!" said the young boy, leaping out of the bed.

"Don't be sssorry."

"Oh, okay…" Harry stared at the room in wonder, "isss thisss really mine? And uncle and aunt really won't sssee the difference and take it from me?"

"It'sss really yoursss," Severus assured, "and they won't want to even come near this room… magic is a wonderful thing. I will let you explore the room yourssself later asss it isss more fun for you that way, but I will explain thisss trunk to you." Harry nodded eagerly.

"Thisss trunk isss very ssspecial. People that don't have magic cannot sssee it, and only you and I can open it… anyone elssse that tries will ssstart feeling asss though sssomeone is tickling them all over…" Harry giggled for the first time in a long time.

"Now when you open it, the firssst thing you will ssse isss thisss compartment. That isss a nutrient potion. It will refill itssself every time you ussse it, and I want you to ussse it every morning when you wake up. You drink the whole thing. Not thisss morning, though, asss I gave it to you whilssst you were asssleep. That isss a healing sssalve, which you will need to put on any cutsss you get… it will make them clossse over and ssstop them from getting infected… the bruissse sssalve there isss the sssame except for briussses and it takesss the pain away asss well. That one there, the brown one isss ssskele-gro. It tassstesss disssgusssting, but if you drink it when you have a broken bone, it will heal it over-night. It can alssso be quite painful, depending on how bad your break isss, but it isss better than having a broken bone. That purple one isss a mussscular potion which will help you develop and keep some musssclesss. You will need to drink that once every night for two weeksss now and every time you get sssick for more than a week… The orange one there isss Pepper-Up and it will get rid of a cold if you have one, although if it isss mild it might be better to lift your immune sssyssstem up by leaving it to get better by itssself… not alwaysss, though, if it isss bad don't hesitate to ussse it… The one next to it isss a fever-reducer, ssso if you are burning up like you were yesssterday, you drink that one… Those two are water and pumpkin juice- pumpkin juice isss a drink that mosst wizarding children are accussstomed to and it isss nicer than it sssoundsss… you can drink that if you don't feel like water, which you mussst drink at least sssix phialsss of a day… That one isss a sssleeping draught which will make you fall assslep for eight hoursss, but you can't have it more than once a week asss it is addictive… feel free to drink it if you can't get to sssleep, though… that'sss all of the potionsss. I have added in enough mealsss for you to eat a proper amount three timesss a day… each meal isss on it'sss own plate and you ssshould eat all of it… they have been put together ssso that if you eat all of it you ssshould be healthy, but don't eat too much more than that asss too much food isss bad for you. One plate a meal isss enough… the mealsss ssshould lassst sssix monthsss and then I will replace them… they have all been charmed to ssstay hot and fresssh until you eat them, ssso they are fine. That'sss the firssst compartment… if you place your hand here, it will open up a sssecond compartment… if you want to do that now… yesss, like that… now, in the wizarding world, we write with ink and quillsss… yesss, and parchment… I added them to the trunk becaussse you will need to know how to ussse them before you come to Hogwarts and they take a while to get usssed to… then there are thessse booksss to help you learn everything that someone your age ssshould be learning at ssschool… becaussse you can read, though, I might have to get you sssome harder booksss sssoon if you would like them… and sssome ssstorybooksss asss well, I sssuppossse… Thossse notebooksss are to help you record thingsss that you have learnt and practice them… not that one… that notebook isss ssspecial. Now, in the wizarding world, sssome people can turn into animalsss… I ssshould have told you thisss before, but I am one of them."

"You- you're a perssson?" hissed Harry, nervous. He wasn't supposed to tell people the things he had told this snake. Apart from that, he was pleased as he had though that only snakes would dare talk to him as he was too much of a freak- but Severus had just proved that theory wrong!

"Yesss, thatsss how I did all of thisss, I jussst didn't want to frighten you by appearing asss a perssson. Are you alright?"

"Yesss," Harry hissed back, realising that he _was _alright. He didn't mind that he had told Severus about his life as it had brought some nice rewards!

"Well, thisss notebook isss a ssspecial one, called a communication notebook. You can write thingsss in it, and I have the other one, ssso I will sssee what you write and reply. You will need to practice your writing a little bit before you ussse it, but you will get there asss you are very sssmart and knowing how to read will make it easssier… you jussst have to learn to hold the quill properly and form the lettersss… anyway, you will be able to sssend messssssagesss to me if you want to talk to sssomeone… I will alssso be able to give you homework through them! I won't be able to be here very often becaussse I am a teacher at Hogwartsss, ssso thisss notebook will make it easssier for you. You can alssso asssk me any quessstionsss that you like including; _'what doesss thisss potion do, I have forgotten again!' _I don't expect you to remember them all ssstraight away, anyway! That'sss the sssecond compartment, however, there isss three… it'sss that button there… yesss… I thought that you might like sssome toysss in cassse you are in here for a long time and you get tired of reading and learning… that'sss all that isss in thisss trunk. Now, it isss ssstill early in the morning… would you like to explore the room, or would you like me to give you your firssst lesssssson in writing?"

"Writing, pleassse," said Harry softly, amazed that he was being given a choice. He picked writing because he had always wanted to learn more, but was never allowed. Now he _was! _It was incredible.

"Very well… I will have to transssform back into a human to help you… I will need to put my hand on top of yoursss to help you with the quill… I will warn you now, though Harry, I'm very ugly…" Harry giggled again. Suddenly, instead of a small black snake, there was a tall, forbidding man. Harry would have been immediately terrified of the man if he wasn't smiling gently at him- something that looked as though it was quite rare.

"Hello, Harry," he said gently.

"Hello, Severus," said Harry.

"Would you still like to have your writing lesson, or have you changed your mind?" That snapped Harry out of his shock.

"No, Severus, I would love to have a writing lesson! I'll be in here for a while, anyway, because I was talking to you, I will be in here for a week until Aunt Petunia decides that it is long enough."

"That's terrible! Anyway, Harry, I would like you to pick out some ink, a quill and parchment. I think that you should probably save the notebooks for writing notes and use the parchment for learning to write and scribbling, drawing, that sort of thing. Once you have picked them out, come and sit up at the desk and we will start your lesson."

"Ok, Severus," said Harry nervously before going to do what he was told. When he was done, Severus started again.

"Right. The first thing that you learn is that you have to be sitting comfortably, but properly. Put your feet flat on the ground in front of you… both of them… that's right. Now sit up straight… that's good! Now, open both of your hands and lay them on the desk palms up… I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to find out if you are left or right handed… good. Now close your hand around it… that finger goes there… that's right… no, your thumb has moved, it goes there. Good! Remember how comfortable that is, how it feels… now we try your other hand… excellent! That looks more comfortable, is it? Okay, so if anyone ever asks, you are left handed. Right. Now, pass me the ink and parchment, please… and the quill as well! Thank you, Harry. Watch… once I have dipped the quill I the ink, I shake it just so… that gets the excess ink off the quill so that I don't make large blots on the parchment and it looks neater. The quill is positioned on this angle to start the down-stroke… it creates a neater line, exactly! When you want to complete the up-stroke, you turn it like this. Yes! Now… that letter I wrote, do you know what it is? It's an 'a.' I wrote it in lower-case, which is what you would use normally… except for the start of a sentence and a few other exceptions. You use a capital letter for those, and a capital 'a' looks like this. Now it's your turn! I want you to try and fill that line with lower-case 'a's, and then the next one is for capitals… we shall see how you go," said Severus in 'professor mode,' handing over the quill. Harry took the quill nervously, desperate to do it properly. He wrote slowly and deliberately, each letter a little better than the last.

"Well done, Harry! That's really good. Now let's try 'B.'" Harry smiled inwardly at the praise. It even sounded genuine!

"Harry, that was excellent for your first time! If you practice every day, you will improve very quickly. Now, I haven't seen you eat breakfast yet, so let's try out the meals in your trunk, shall we?"

"Okay, what would you like, Severus?"

"Nothing, Harry, it's yours," said Severus gently. Harry smiled hesitantly at the man and was rewarded with one in return. He ran over to the trunk and pulled out the top meal.

"Where should I eat it?" asked Harry nervously.

"Eat! Oh I should have thought of that. Just wait a moment, Harry," said Severus frustratedly, "Tibby!"

"Yes, master?" the elf popped into the room immediately. Harry gasped, and Severus turned to him.

"Harry, this is Tibby. He is a house-elf, and it is his job to do things that I ask him to. Most rich wizarding families have house-elves and it is a privilege," he said, before turning back to Tibby, "Tibby, I need you to collect a dining table and chair from Hogwarts, along with cutlery, serviettes, I suppose a cup or two as well… We will also need a sink to do the washing up in, please."

"Tibby will get those things right away, Master," said Tibby before he popped out of the room. Harry put his meal down on the ground and looked at Severus.

"Severus, I do all of the chores for the Dursleys… am I their house elf?"

"No, Harry, you're not. A house elf is an _elf, _and you are human. They also cannot live without being bound to their Master, whereas you can. A master gives them their magic, and an elf needs magic to survive. Furthermore, they _like _their work and need it, too. _You,_ however, can live without all of the chores your relatives make you do. They are not your masters, just your Aunt and Uncle and they should not be treating you the way they do."

"Why?" That simple question floored Severus.

"Harry… it's just not right. A child like you should be going to school and learning their lessons, going to bed when the adults tell them to and keeping their bedroom clean. You should be playing with toys inside, or running around with friends outside. Most children your age take the fact that they can do that for granted, but the fact is; A 6 year old child should not have to cook the meals, shovel the drive, mow and rake the lawn, trim the hedges, wash the car, sweep and dust the house, do the vacuuming and every other chose you are asked to do. You should be allowed to go to school, ask questions, and get into all sorts of mischief. You should not have to worry about when you will next get a meal, or be allowed out of the cupboard. You should be allowed to scream or yell as loud as you want… in moderation. You should be allowed to crawl into bed with your guardians when you have a nightmare and be comforted. You shouldn't be _lied to _about who you are… who your parents were. You should be allowed to have fun, to enjoy yourself," said Severus passionately.

"Thank you," said Harry softly, "for caring… for telling me it's not right… I… I- I believe you… I think."

"That's perfectly alright, Harry," said Severus as Tibby popped back into the room with the required items.

"Tibby has the things that you requested. Master," he said as he began to place the furniture around the room, "Tibby also collected a tablecloth."

"There you are, Harry, you can eat up at the table."

"I've never eaten at a table before," said Harry shyly as he placed the meal up at the seat where the cutlery had been placed.

"Really? Those Muggles… anyway. You sit up the way you did when you were writing… that's right! The fork goes in your left hand… open your hand… good, now close it again… that's right! That finger presses up there… it helps you control the fork… good! The knife goes in your right hand… yes, like that… that's excellent! Sitting up straight, Harry, good. Okay, the sausage first… put the fork… yes, that's right… the knife… good! Eat small amounts at a time, that's a good size… close your mouth… yes… Harry, you need to chew, the food isn't going anywhere! Well done. Yes, it's called Table Etiquette and it's very important. Why? It's rude to eat food any other way. Right! What Dudley does is bad and people won't like eating with him if he does that. Harry, keep your mouth closed when you chew… when you want to talk you have to make sure that you don't have any food in your mouth. You spray people with half-chewed food if you don't! The spoon? You would hold it in your right hand… I know it's easier, but that's just how it is…Slow down, slow down… if you eat too fast, you will get sick! Stomach ache… Yes, you have to eat it all… your stomach is too small from not eating enough before, so you will feel full before you have finished until you stretch it to a proper size. Yes, Harry, it's only 3 more mouthfuls… 2 more… one more… well done! That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, when you are done, you pick up your plate… and the knife and fork… bring them over here to the sink… yes, now put them in… okay, tap the little mark here… they wash themselves! When they're dry, they'll place themselves here on the draining board and you can put them back in the trunk. Now, the tablecloth, seeing as it is clean, you can just fold it and put it in the little cabinet under the sink. If it was dirty… well… just leave it on the table and I will clean it the next time I come around. Hmmm… I have to go, Harry, I need to get back to Hogwarts as I have a class to teach, but I will be back on Saturday… you really need a calendar and a clock in here… maybe a window as well, so you can see if the sun is out… Tibby!"

"Yes, Master?"

"Tibby, can you please collect a calendar and a clock and bring them back here? A window would also be useful if you could enchant one to look out over, say, the Hogwarts lake? Mmmm… get the weather to represent what is happening here, but the view of the Lake… thank you, Tibby, that looks wonderful. Now the clock and calendar, if you please." Tibby bowed and popped away.

"The window is amazing," breather Harry, "thank you, Severus!"

"You are welcome, Harry. Now, I will be back on Saturday… you will still be in here, won't you?"

"Yes." Severus sighed.

"Well, you have the toys… and the books. Don't forget to practice your writing every day, eat three meals each day as well! Don't forget the potions, I'll remind you through the communication notebook if you keep that open. Try reading some of the books as well? I will bring some more next week, but you should try these ones now. I'm sure you will enjoy the fiction ones, but try and read some of the ones that you will learn from, like the mathematics book! Play with your toys and have fun, Harry, I might be able to bring you some more next week. If you need something, try and write it in the communication notebook. Are you going to be alright, Harry?"

"Yes, Severus. Severus?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"What do you teach at Hogwarts?" Severus smirked.

"Potions class!"

"Would you be able to bring some books on… potions… next week?"

"Of course, Harry."

"Thank you! I will be alright for the week, this room is much better than the cupboard and I actually have things to do in here!"

"If you're sure that you will be okay, Harry. I feel bad leaving you here, but I have to go. Goodbye, Harry!"

"Goodbye, Severus," said Harry softly, unsure if he would be recognised for it. To his delight, Severus smiled at him, before transforming into a small black snake and slithering out through the door that magically opened as he reached it.


End file.
